If You Love Liberty You Might be a Terrorist

A report on terrorism in the United States has been published by the Department of Homeland Security. The authors of the report are Gary LaFree, director of START and professor of criminology at the University of Maryland, and Bianca Bersani, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.

The goal of the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) program is to sponsor research that will aid the intelligence and law enforcement communities in identifying potential terrorist threats and support policymakers in developing prevention efforts.

And what should law enforcement agencies being looking for when it comes to domestic terrorism? Americans “suspicious of centralized federal authority, reverent of individual liberty” and protecting their personal freedoms are categorized as extreme right-wing terrorists. The study claims that “right-wing extremists” are “groups that believe that one’s personal and/or national ‘way of life’ is under attack and is either already lost or that the threat is imminent.”

I did a search of the words “Islam” and “Muslim” in the 37-page report. Islam came up once. Muslim does not appear at all. The new Executive Director of START is Bill Braniff. He is more concerned with “Islamophobia” than Islamic terrorism.

The section on “Religious” groups caught my attention:

Religious: groups that seek to smite the purported enemies of God and other evildoers, impose strict religious tenets or laws on society (fundamentalists), forcibly insert religion into the political sphere (e.g., those who seek to politicize religion, such as Christian Reconstructionists and Islamists), and/or bring about Armageddon (apocalyptic millenarian cults; 2010: 17). For example, Jewish Direct Action, Mormon extremist, Jamaat-al-Fuqra, and Covenant, Sword and the Arm of the Lord (CSA) are included in this category.

This is an area in which I have some degree of expertise. In the above paragraph, the report mentions “Christian Reconstructionists.” I have been familiar with Christian Reconstruction for more than 30 years. In fact, I wrote the books The Debate over Christian Reconstruction and Christian Reconstruction: What It is. What It Isn’t (with Dr. Gary North). I know every well-known Christian Reconstructionist and own every Christian Reconstruction book ever published. (I have a personal library of 40,000 books.) It’s obvious that the authors of this report are not familiar with Christian Reconstruction. Reconstructionists do not believe in political change through terrorism or revolution.

I wonder if the authors read R. J. Rushdoony’s 1975 article, “Jesus and the Tax Revolt” that appeared in the Winter 1975/76 issue of The Journal of Christian Reconstruction. The article is a refutation of the tax protest movement.

As one Reconstructionist put it: “Our goal is persuasion, not revolution.”

So then, if you believe in liberty and freedom and distrust the government, then you might be a terrorist.

Comments

Gary is a graduate of Western Michigan University (1973) and earned his M.Div. at Reformed Theological Seminary in 1979. He is the author of countless essays, news articles, and more than 27 book titles.

An unexpected exercise of liberty can be terrifying or an exercise of unexpected liberty can be terrorizing. There is probably not a woman alive who has not felt this way at one time or another.

Bill Weston

Politicians and their staffs come and go, but the bureacracy remains. The application of laws and regulations are then in the hands of the bureaucrats that often have tenure. Tenure makes getting fired extremely difficult. The volatility of politics causes the need for a measure of protection for government employees to be sure. However, this can be extreme. For example, the origional intent of N.D.A.A. to thwart terrorism in our country has merit. In the hands of some agencies and bureaucrats with an agenda, the legislation becomes an atrocity. The problem with this legislation is the potential to compromise due process granted to U.S. citizens by the Constitution. If the accused is not a citizen, another standard might apply. Fortunatly, the reports authored by Gary LaFree and Bill Braniff are recomendations and not legislation. Our legislators do not have to accept the reports verbatim. And no government employee should be allowed to use the contents thereof to enforce pseudo legislation. The sovereignty of this country is endowed to the people. The people then grant specific, enumerated powers (authority) to civil government, including the employees. The principle has not changed. Therefore, any citizen acting in support of our constitutional rights cannot be a terrorist.

Write me in in ink, if patriotism equates to being a terrorist ! obammi would love to have the guts to label our founding fathers as terrorists, but he hasn’t the guts, YET! I firmly believe people like me will not only be labelled terrorists, but be pursued as terrorists when we take up arms to overthrow our increasingly repressive government!

EF

So Maybe the DHS would like to show Americans exactly just “How” the American Citizen’s Liberties are “Not” under Attack???
This Report, I would like to see!
Just Sayin’…
Lol!

jkdriss

Everyone does realize that there is something on the list that applies to every single American, it is not discriminating.

Liberta

Based on Bianca Bersani and Gary LaFree’s report we would have to arrest the founding fathers if they were still alive.

http://www.survivingurbancrisis.com/ Silas Longshot

I’m thinking some leftist bonehead was toking while watching some of Jeff Foxworthy’s ‘you might be a redneck if’ routine and sort of got it all twisted in his drug induced state of befuddlement. Come to think of it though, how does one tell if a socialist is more befuddled than a pothead without some sort of standarization of pothead befuddlement?

marlio

I would rather be a patriot who believes in life, liberty and the persuit of happiness, The Constitution and freedom than be a marxist, lying, weasel!!!

sovereigntyofone

Now what was that saying? I remember now… One man’s terrorists is another mans patriot.
Curious how the government has twisted the meaning isn’t it?

gnafuasusual

Perhaps the muslim terrorists are on my list of people who defame America. We have that right to create our lists of people who are distructive and are shameful in the eyes of God and Man. I well remember 9/11 and still mourn the destroyed lives. We know what terrorists really are and they sure aren’t good American Citizens who believe in Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness. Someone is full of manure if they believe otherwise.

S Rubicon

Oh well, count me in! I believe in the Constitution, and especially the 2nd Amendment, freedom, liberty & individual rights. Where should I report for detention??